Bredesen Swears In Rhynette Hurd as Judge
Wednesday, June 09, 2010 | 11:00am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Governor Phil Bredesen Wednesday participated in the Investiture Ceremony for Rhynette Hurd to the Tennessee Circuit Court for the 30th Judicial District, Division VIII. Bredesen appointed Hurd in March to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge D’Army Bailey. The ceremony was held at the Shelby County Commission Chamber in Memphis.
“With this appointment, we fulfill one of the fundamental responsibilities of our Constitution – making sure that Tennessee’s judicial system remains independent and strong,” Bredesen said. “I’ve tried to appoint highly qualified individuals - people like Rhynette Hurd who can be entrusted with that power and have the type of temperament that will enable them to exercise that power fairly and respectfully. Rhynette has already brought strength and integrity to her new position and I know that she will continue to do so.”
Preceding her appointment to the circuit court, Hurd spent much of her legal career as in-house counsel at several corporations. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and as an assistant to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. She served as a member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2008.
“Rhynette brings to this position nearly 20 years of experience,” Bredesen said. “I became acquainted with Rhynette during her service on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees where her practical judgment and decision making helped guide the Board through some difficult times. I’m confident Tennesseans who come before her on the bench will also benefit from those attributes.”
Hurd obtained a bachelor’s degree in English Composition from Mount Holyoke College, a M.A.T. in African and African-American Literature and Sociology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Ph.D. in English Education from Vanderbilt University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis. She is married to Dr. William C. Hurd and has two sons, William and Ryan.
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